Refraction changes in children with retinopathy of prematurity after transpupillary laser coagulation of the retina

Abstract

The improvement in nursing routine of premature babies with low and extremely low body weight has increased their survival rate. Along with the growing number of such children, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) occurs relatively less often and its outcome becomes more favorable. Modern approaches to the surgical treatment have led to a significant reduction in the incidence of blindness and visual disability caused by ROP. Yet, ROP remains one of the major issues in neonatal ophthalmology, often associated with refractive disorders.Purpose: to evaluate the refractive changes in children with ROP after transpupillary laser coagulation of the retina based by clinical experience.Materials and methods. We analyzed 5 clinical cases of children with ROP treated in Children's City Clinical Hospital No 1 during the period from 2013 to 2014. All patients underwent retinal transpupillary laser coagulation; its volume determined by the stage of ROP. Eye refraction data were noted at the age of 1 and 7 years. The quality of visual functions and the axial length of the eye were determined at the age of 7.Results. All patients had hyperopia of varying degrees at 1 years old. By the age of 7, one patient developed myopia, another one had emmetropia, while the rest of children had hyperopia of varying degrees. Regardless of the refractive error type, the axial length of the eye remained significantly below the age norm. The low quality of visual functions is due to the lack of full-time optical correction and irregular outpatient observation.Conclusions. Most often, hyperopia refraction in children with ROP is accompanied by a short axial length of the eye. Full-time optical correction should be prescribed, and spectacle wearing should be monitored by parents and ophthalmologists who observe the patients.